Results from a recent floodplain study by Atkins Engineering will be introduced during a luncheon meeting June 15, hosted by the Fremont Economic Development Corp.

The meeting will be at 11:30 a.m. at the Abbey Events Center, 2951 E. U.S. 50. Cost is $15 per person, which includes lunch.

"Atkins reviewed the hydrology on the river to update all of the engineering data that had not been updated since the 70's," said Rob Brown, executive director for FEDC. "From that data and with this report they generated, we can do a number of different things with it, one of which is have FEMA review the circumstances related to all of the floodplain maps and so forth."

FEDC acquired the $50,000 engineering grant from the USDA for rural communities to pay for the study. In order to develop along the river corridor, Brown said, a better understanding of the floodplain is required.

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"What that means for the community is that the municipalities in our area will now have a new set of data that they can use in making all their determinations," he said. "Part of the discussion at the meeting will be how we can take advantage of this report and how we can use the data."

This is not a call to action, Brown said, and no immediate changes will be made to the floodplain or the maps. It simply offers data that can be used in taking various next steps.

"The overall issue of the floodplain is an immense issue, and it affects everyone in the county from one end to the other, potentially," he said.

The role of FEDC in the community, Brown said, it to help generate jobs, and one of the ways to do so is by helping to remove obstacles. Challenges with the floodplain are obstacles not only for FEDC and potential partners, but also for the city and the county.

"They have federal requirements, mandates, they have to work within, so our goal was to give them the best possible engineering data that we could give them, so they have something of significance to reference," he said. "This is an example of something that FEDC is doing all day, every day to benefit the community as a whole, and it's not particularly visible."

Through this initiative, other agencies, including the City of Cañon City, City of Florence, Fremont County and GIS, partnered with FEDC to be able to find other funding and means to expand the project beyond the study.

"We're continuing to convene that team for the purpose of improving this overall situation," Brown said.

For more information, or to RSVP to the event, email armstrong@fedc.co or call (719) 275-8601.

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